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03 March 2009

Coffee on my mind

It may be March, but the weather is damp and bone chilling. Naturally, a good remedy that comes to my mind is coffee.

One of my abiding pleasures in the realm of gastronomy is great fresh roasted coffee. I was a late comer to the world of coffee drinking, not really getting the taste for it until I entered the late nights of university and the need for something to keep awake during those sleep inducing 8 am agriculture classes, whose sheer dullness had my head heading for the table. I found a friendly cafe on main street and soon became a regular and eventually worked there for my friends making their pastries and learning to make a proper cappuccino to boot.

Those were the beginnings for me of my journey into the very intriguing world of cafe culture with the main item on the menu being coffee arriving from it's many exotic locations of one of my other great loves and that would be mountains. But I digress. Fast forward to my life now here Europe where the cafe culture thrives and I love the variety of cafes that you find everywhere. I also love the fact that cafes are bars here and have an entirely different connotation than a bar say in America, where it is assumed you will be drinking alcoholic beverages and there fore is an adult place. Here bar is synonymous for cafe and it means anything to drink ht cold, alcoholic or not and suitable for the whole family. I love that a lot.In our big town of Pinerolo, which sits at the mouth of our valley, has a population of about 35,000, there are over 160 cafe/bar licenses. A rather impressive number indeed. Plenty of neighborhood bars to hang out or meet up for a quick cuppa espresso or a "cin cin" Cinzano with friends. we have our favorite haunts when we find ourselves out and about on errands in Pinerolo or for our market day with or without guests.

One of our favorite stops is when we are off to Torino by bus or train or we need supplies for the cafe culture at our house and that would be a stop at Caffe della Stazione (Caffeteria del Chiosco) in Pinerolo.Just like the name indicates, it is located just across the street from the train/bus station and is a welcome stop before or after your journey.

If you are looking for a fabulous cup of fresh roasted cup of coffee, this is the place.

The bar is a bit of a fixture in Pinerolo. It's been sitting across the street from the train station, at the very least, since the 2nd world war. Alessandro started the Peccati di Caffé business to feature and expand distribution of his fresh roasted "Difinello Coffee" side of his business that he began in 2006 and hasn't looked back. We've been regular customers serving their beans to our guests in the traditional Italian espresso and cappuccino or the longer version of French Press style coffee, to appreciative comments. Alessandro is often out delivering the beans, while his wife Michela, along with their staff serve up their fresh roasted brew in this historic cafe located just across the street from the Pinerolo train station. They also serve up fresh pannini and pastries with those coffees to the many travelers heading out and returning home, day after day. They also have a nice selection of Italian wines that you can sample it by the glass and sit out on the patio in the summer and enjoy the people watching from this well situated spot. If you arrive early you will find Alessandro's parents making the cappuccini and espressos just like the old days when they were running the bar. Now they do the early shift and let their kids get their grand kids off to school in the mornings. Keeps them still with their fingers on the pulse of Pinerolo.You can find this cafe open all year round, daily from 6:00 am till 21:30, during the winter and 6:00-23:00, summers, excluding Sunday when they have a family day off. Do stop in have a cup and take some beans home. You'll be glad you did.

Marla if your 'bar' was like that here I'd be there all the time. Love the cafe culture you describe. Oddly enough, there is a coffee place here (within a mile) that has become a neighborhood place even extending it's hours into the evening with live music. Most unusual.

Settling for Starbucks is not quite the same. Funny Ivy, that a "caffetiera" in Italian is a espresso pot that works on the stove. Your bar sounds great MKIHCI'll be waiting Lori LynnOh I wish you were too Maryann, but alas today, it would have to be indoors as it's snowing up here and raining in the valley, argh!